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EAS > Lecture 21: Weather > Flashcards

Lecture 21: Weather Flashcards

1
Q

What does Weather give?

A

The conditions of the atmosphere at a specific place and time on the planet

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2
Q

What is the Pressure Gradient flow?

A

When air is heated at the equator and forms a low pressure gradient and moves towards the high pressure at the poles

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3
Q

What is wind speed controlled by?

A

The pressure gradient

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4
Q

What are Isobars?

A

Lines of constant pressures

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5
Q

How do Isobars affect wind speed?

A

If isobars are far apart this means there is low pressure and low speed

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6
Q

What occurs in Geostrophic flow?

A

When wind flows parallel to isobars due to the coriolis effect balancing the pressure gradient

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7
Q

What are the cells of Global air circulation from middle to end?

A

Hadley, Ferrel, Polar

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8
Q

What are Hadley cells driven by and where are they located?

A

Driven by pressure gradient flow and located near the equator

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9
Q

What are Ferrel cells driven by?

A

Movement of adjacent cells, they are poorly defined

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10
Q

What are Polar cells driven by?

A

Pressure gradient flow and they are located near the poles

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11
Q

What breaks up the air circulation patterns into 6 cells?

A

The coriolis effect

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12
Q

What is the movement of winds at high altitudes?

A

Winds are Geostrophic because friction reduces the Coriolis effect on pressure gradient flow

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13
Q

What are Ekman spirals?

A

When high pressure areas have CW outward spiralling winds and low pressure areas have CCW inwards spiralling winds

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14
Q

What are Ekman spirals in the atmosphere caused by?

A

Modification of pressure gradient flow by the Coriolis force

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15
Q

What is the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)?

A

A zone of low pressure near the equator

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16
Q

What are Easterlies?

A

Persistent winds that dominate the equatorial zone

17
Q

What are the Westerlies?

A

Persistent winds that are above high pressure zones

18
Q

What are Trade winds?

A

Persistent wind patterns like the easterlies and westerlies

19
Q

What results in the Jet stream?

A

The mid latitude change in altitude of the tropopause that causes a steep pressure gradient

20
Q

What controls the position jet stream?

A

Where cold air intersects with warm air called Rossby waves where they change position

21
Q

What is Weather controlled by?

A

Air masses

22
Q

What are Air masses?

A

Large volumes of air that have internally consistent properties, including pressure, humidity and temperature

23
Q

What are Air Masses Characterized by?

A

Do they form over a continent (c) or maritime regions (m), do they form in the Tropics (T) or in Polar regions (P)

24
Q

What are monsoons?

A

Seasonal migration of pressure belts that reverses wind directions near the equator causing heavy rain

25
Q

What do Sea Breezes result from?

A

Loca pressure gradient winds when the land heats faster than the sea causing a region of low pressure and wind blows towards the land

26
Q

What do Land Breezes result from?

A

Land cooling faster than the sea at night causing wind to flow towards the sea

27
Q

What are Mountain and Valley winds?

A

When warm winds are in valleys during the day and cold winds are in valleys during the night

28
Q

When do Chinooks occur?

A

When regional atmospheric flow forces air over the mountains and it descends and brings warm air

29
Q

How do Thunderstorms form?

A

Warm moist air masses during the day where cold fronts contact cP air

30
Q

What is lightning?

A

Electrical discharge that occur to balance the separation between the positive top and the negative bottom of clouds

31
Q

What are Tornadoes initiated by?

A

Spiral Updrafts with tightly rotating centers that typically rotate in the direction of the larger air mass

32
Q

What do Tropical Cyclones require?

A

Warm moist air, condensation to supply latent heat for density lifting, the coriolis effect

EAS (33 decks)

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